vesper



Oct. 23, 1962 D. M. VESPER PNEUMATIC COMPUTING RELAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 OUT-PUT (P) AIR SUPPLY INVENTOR. D.M. VESPER BY MW fM Filed Dec. 8, 1960 A 7' TORNE K9 Oct. 23, 1962 D. M. VESPER 3,059,846

PNEUMATIC COMPUTING RELAY.

Filed D60. 8, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FULCRUME -25 2.2

12 B l4 c NOZZLE gAlR SUPPLY -|e OUT-PUT (P) INVENTOR.

D. M. VESPER BY g" v;

United States Patent 3,059,846 PNEUMATIC COMPUTING RELAY Daniel M. Vesper, Bartlesville, Okla, assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 74,689 6 Claims. (Cl. 23561) This invention relates to an improved pneumatic computing relay. In one specific aspect, this invention relates to an improved pneumatic computing relay whereby seven terms can be added and/or subtracted.

Conventional pneumatic force-balance computing relays are employed to add and/ or subtract terms or variables representative of control conditions existing in a process. Such relays are limited in the number of terms they can handle. For example, a conventional computing relay can only handle three terms. It is, therefore, desirable to have a computing relay capable of adding and/ or subtracting more terms.

Accordingly, an object of this invent-ion is to provide an improved pneumatic computing relay.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved pneumatic computing relay whereby seven terms can be added :and/ or subtracted.

Other objects, advantages, and features of my invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and the appended claims.

Broadly, I have discovered that by adding bellows and a force balancing floating disc to a conventional computing relay in the hereinafter described manner, a pneumatic computing relay is obtained capable of adding and/or subtracting seven terms.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the inventive modified conventional computing relay.

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic representation of the inventive computing relay. 7

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown a conventional computing relay together with the inventive modification. To clearly differentiate between the conventional elements of the relay and the inventive modification, numerals 10-33 are employed to designate said conventional elements and numerals 50-68 are utilized to designate elements of the inventive modification.

A pneumatic pressure A is transmitted via conduit means 10 to a bellows 11. A pneumatic pressure B is transmitted via conduit means 12 to a bellows 13. A pneumatic pressure C is transmitted via conduit means 14 to a bellows 15. A pressure P is transmitted via conduit means 16 and 17 from relay 18 to a bellows 19, and is emitted as an output pressure via means 17. Bearing directly upon bellows 11, 13, and 19 and in fixed relationship to said bellows is a force-balancing floating disc 20, said disc 20 having minute conical-shaped recesses to receive conical-shaped extensions 21, 22, 23 and 24. Constantly bearing upon floating disc 20 are two rotating cylindrical fulcrums 25. The position of said tulcrums 25 with respect to disc 20 is adjustable within a 90 circular are by moving a lever 26 so as to place said fulcrums 25 at a predetermined set point. A dial 27 indicates the position of fulcrurns 25, said dial 27 attached to a supporting plate member 28.

Supported by and suspended from plate member 28 is an air nozzle 29. Air is supplied to air nozzle 29 via conduit means 30, conduit means 31 and reducing tube 32. Air is back-pressured from air nozzle 29 via conduit means 33 to relay 18.

It is within the scope of this invention to provide an adjustable pivot means other than the rotatable fulcrums herein illustrated and to otherwise effect a cooperation between the pressure receiving bellows, forcebalancing disc, and adjustable pivot means. The following described modification would, of course, be further modified in a similar manner.

A torcelbalancing floating disc 50 is secured to disc 20 and held in fixed relationship to disc 20 by vertical pin members 51. Securing pin members 51 to discs 20 and 50 are screw members 67. A horizontal supporting plate member 52 is held in fixed relationship to and supported by plate member 28 by means of vertical pin support members 53. Horizontal plate member 28 is supported by a means not herein disclosed. Horizontal plate member 52 and plate member 28 are secured to vertical pin support members 53 by screw members 54 and 68 respectively.

Supported by and suspended from horizontal plate member 52 are bellows 55, 56, 57 and 58. A pneumatic pressure is transmitted to said bellows via conduit inlet means 59, 60, 6 1 and 62. Bellows members '55, 56, 57 and 58 are held in fixed and constantly bearing relationship to floating disc 50, said disc member 50 recessed so as to receive conical-shaped extensions 63, 64, 65 and 66.

Disc members 20 and 50 are fabricated in an identical manner. Said disc members have been modified by drilling holes so as to provide a means whereby vertical pin members 51 are secured to said disc members 20 and 50.

The operation of the inventive pneumatic computing relay is best illustrated by referring to FIGURE 2 which is a diagrammatic representation of the pneumatic relay of FIGURE 1. For purposes of simplification, the same numerals are used in FIGURE 2 to designate the component elements having the same function as the component elements of FIGURE 1 identically numbered. Bellows elements 21, 22, 23 and 24 exert a pressure upon disc 20 in proportion to pneumatic pressures A, B, C and P respectively. A fulcrum 25 is adjustably positioned along disc 20. The effect produced upon disc 20 by each of said bellows elements is dependent upon the position of fulcrum 25, fulcrum 25 acting as the pivot means for the rotation of disc 20.

A disc 50 is attached to disc 20 by means of pin members 51 so as to rotate about fulcrum 25 in the same manner as disc 20, the amount of rotation of discs 20 and 50 depending upon the forces exerted upon said respective discs and the adjustable position of fulcrum 25. Bellows elements 55, 56, 57 and 58 exert a pressure upon disc 50 directly and indiricetly upon disc 20 in proportion to pneumatic pressures H, E, D and F respectively.

Air is supplied at a constant pressure via conduit 30. A portion of the supplied air is transmitted via conduit 31 to nozzle 29. The amount of air emitted from nozzle 29 is dependent upon the position of disc 20, said disc 20 acting as a bafiie to the air issuing from nozzle 29. The remainder of the air is back-pressured to conduit 17 via conduit 16. The output pressure P and the pneumatic pressure transmitted to bellows 24 is thus dependent upon the position of disc 20.

Referring to the adding relay of FIGURE 2, without the modification heretofore described, the static equation solved by said relay is:

wherein G is the gain as determined by the location of the fulcrum 25. By adding the inventive modification to the conventional computing relay, the following equation can now be solved:

wherein A, B, C, D, E, F and H, as previously noted,

3 are pneumatic pressures applied to bellows elements 21, 22, 23, 57, 56, 58 and 55 respectively. The inventive computing relay will thus add and/ or subtract seven terms whereas the conventional computing relay would handle only three terms.

Although the inventive computing relay has been described in terms of variable pneumatic pressures, A, B, C, D, E, F and H, it is, of course, within the skill of the art to substitute a spring or springs for one or more of the bellows elements receiving said variable pneumatic pressures. It is also within the skill of the art to apply a set or bias pressure to one or more of the bellows receiving a variable pneumatic pressure. Other means of connecting disc members 20 and 50 and supporting bellows elements 55, 56, 57 and 58 in their bearing relationship to disc 50 can be suitably employed.

The invention has been described in terms of modifying a conventional pneumatic computing relay. It is, of course, within the scope of this invention to construct a computing relay operating on similar principles wherein seven terms can be added and/or subtracted.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, various modifications of this invention can be made, or followed, in the light of the foregoing disclosure and discussion, without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

I claim:

1. A pneumatic forcebalance instrument responsive to at least one value of a measured condition, comprising, in combination, an adjustable fulcrum, a first balance member tiltable about said fulcrum, a pneumatic system including a nozzle mounted for effective cooperation with said first balance member and a source of air under pressure for supplying air to said nozzle, whereby tilting of said first balance member varies the air flow through said nozzle to vary the pressure in said system, first and second means positioned to engage spaced points on said first balance member to exert tilting forces thereon and effectively responsive respectively to at least one said value of said measured condition and to the pressure in said system, each of said first and second means comprising a pair of elements bearing against said first balance member to exert oppositely-acting tilting forces thereon, at least one of said elements being constructed and arranged to exert on said first balance member a force proportional to said value of said measured condition, a second balance member operably secured to and in fixed relationship to said first balance member and arranged so as to exert on said first balance member a force proportional to the force exerted upon said second balance member, and third and fourth means positioned to engage spaced points on said second balance member to exert tilting forces thereon.

2. The instrument of claim 1 wherein each of said third and fourth means comprises a pair of elements bearing against said second balance member to exert oppositely-acting tilting forces thereon.

3. The instrument of claim 2 wherein at least one of said elements of said third and fourth means is constructed and arranged to exert on said second balance 4 member a force proportional to the value of a measured condition.

4. The instrument of claim 2 wherein each of three of said elements of said first and second means is constructed and arranged to exert on said first balance member a force proportional to the value of a measured condition, and each of said elements of said third and fourth means is constructed and arranged to exert on said second balance member a force proportional to the value of a measured condition, whereby said pneumatic forcebalance instrument is simultaneously responsive to seven values of seven measured conditions.

5. The instrument of claim 1 wherein said second balance member is at all times parallel to said first balance member.

6. In a pneumatic force-balance instrument responsive to at least one value of a measured condition, in combination, a rotatable fulcrum, a first balance member tiltable about said fulcrum, a pneumatic system including a nozzle mounted for effective cooperation with said first balance member and a source of air under pressure for supplying air to said nozzle, whereby tilting of said first balance member varies the air flow through said nozzle to vary the pressure in said system, first and second means positioned to engage spaced points on said first balance member to exert tilting forces thereon and effectively responsive respectively to at least one said value of said measured condition and to the pressure in said system, said first and second means each comprising a pair of elements bearing against said first balance member to exert oppositely-acting tilting forces thereon, at least one of said elements being constructed and arranged to exert on said first balance member a force proportional to said value of said measured condition, said fulcrum being rotatable to vary the axis around which said first balance member tilts and having an axis of rotation substantially parallel to the lines of action as the forces exerted by said first and second means; an improvement comprising, in combination, a second balance member operably secured to and in fixed relationship to said first balance member and arranged so as to exert on said first balance member a force proportional to the force exerted upon said second balance member, third and fourth means positioned to engage spaced points on said second balance member to exert tilting forces thereon, each of three of said elements of said first and second means is constructed and arranged to exert on said first balance member a force proportional to the value of a measured condition, and each of said elements whereby said pneumatic force-balance instrument is simultaneously responsive to seven values of seven measured conditions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,643,055 Sorteberg June 23, 1953 2,736,199 Ibbott Feb. 28, 1956 2,960,098 Watrous Nov. 15, 1960 

